Gabriel Jesus has shared some more pictures of his recovery from injury while also sending out an emotional message to Arsenal fans.
THE LOWDOWN: RECOVERY PERIOD
It has been over a month since the 25-year-old got injured while representing Brazil at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar against Cameroon and the resulting surgery. The images that have been shared in the past week now show that he is no longer in need of crutches to walk, which indicates progress in his recovery.
His most recent picture, shared to his social media page, shows him working with a ball. The inference is that his recovery is progressing fast enough for him to do ball work and that he could be back in training with the team soon.
His recovery period was slated to be around three months from the surgery, putting his return date in March 2023. He was also billed to recover earlier by the same doctors if certain conditions were met, as they put his early return date to action in February 2022.
THE LATEST: GETTING CLOSER TO FULL FITNESS
The Gunners have been excellent and lucky enough to stave off all the opponents they have met without Jesus in the squad. They have also scored two goals on average in all their matches played without the man who became their talisman this season, thanks to the other members of the team stepping up to the plate.
However, Arsenal will be pleased that he is now doing ball work in the club’s facilities as they go into the most difficult stretch of their season.
Jesus posted three images of himself on Instagram juggling the ball, coupled with the message, “I miss you.”
This comes after Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta expressed fears that the former Manchester City man could be out for longer.
Speaking to Sky Sports at the weekend following their victory over their fierce North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Arteta said: “Hopefully we will have him back (for the final few months).
“Obviously it was a serious injury, a bit longer than we expected it. He is going to try to do everything he can to make it shorter but we’re going to miss him for a while.”
THE VERDICT: ON TO THE NEXT ONE
Arsenal go up against a resurgent Manchester United next as they look to avenge their only loss of the Premier League season so far.
Jesus was a part of that match and will be hoping his side can go all the way as they welcome the Red Devils to the Emirates on Sunday evening.